Managerial Palooza - Recapping the Managerial Hires That Have Taken Place Thus Far

A few short weeks ago, there were approximately eight different managerial openings around the game of baseball. The teams with openings consisted of the: San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Well, since that time, that list has been cut by half as there were three new managerial hirings announced this past week.

With the World Series going on, there is a lot to stay up-to-date on and with the amount of hustle and bustle in today's society, it makes it even harder. Therefore, let's recap the four managerial hirings that have happened to this point and talk about each hiring in length.

October 16th, 2019 - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Hire Joe Madden

Everything kicked off a little over a week ago when the Los Angeles Angels hired former Chicago Cubs skipper, Joe Maddon, to be their new manager. The Angels, who had fired Brad Ausmus about two weeks prior, decided that they ultimately wanted to go in a different direction and the minute it was assumed that Joe Maddon would be a free agent on the open market, it seemed as though his final destination was going to be with the Angels.

Maddon is everything that the Angels need and more especially considering the type of season they are coming off of. The Angels once again finished with a losing record at (72-90), which was good enough for fourth place in the American League West, and were approximately (35) games back of the division champion and eventual American League pennant winning, Houston Astros. To say that the 2019 regular season was a disappointment would be a significant understatement and while all the blame can't be put on the shoulders of Brad Ausmus, some of the decision-making that occurred during his one-year tenure with the Angels, was questionable.

Therefore, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim owner, Arte Moreno and his ownership group, knew that they couldn't continue with Ausmus and likely didn't want him to have the "lame duck" status heading into next year presuming that the Angels once again finished with a less than desirable record in 2020. With Maddon at the helm, the pressure now turns to General Manager, Billy Eppler, to make significant improvements to the team this offseason and really put the Angels in a position to contend next year. While the team might not be able to compete with the likes of the Houston Astros or Oakland Athletics in the American League West, there still needs to be improvement made and many spots on the 25-man roster need to be upgraded for that success to be sustainable.

Joe Maddon is a terrific step in the right direction, but there is a lot of work to still be done in Anaheim and it needs to be done sooner than later.

October 24th, 2019: 


1. David Ross is Officially Named the New Skipper of the Chicago Cubs

Yesterday, it was reported by a number of different media outlets that the Chicago Cubs had concluded their managerial search and officially offered the position to former major league catcher and team mentor, David Ross. This morning, the news was made official by the Chicago Cubs Twitter account and it couldn't be a more positive hiring for the Cubs.

Ross, who inked a three-year deal with a club option for the 2023 season with the organization, brings a new approach to the table that the Cubs might not have had under the direction of the aforementioned, Joe Maddon. In fact, many players on the Cubs have mentioned numerous times how much of an impact David Ross has had on their playing careers and how much of a mentor he is to them on and off the field. That means that Theo Epstein & Company made quite the hire because Ross already has those relationships built with the Cubs players, he has a feel for how the team operates, and he has a great pulse of the amount of team chemistry that is needed to win.

Following a disappointing season on the Northside of Chicago that resulted in the Cubs missing out on the playoffs altogether, this is a positive Public Relations move and one that causes plenty of excitement heading into the 2020 season among virtually all Cubs fans. What will be interesting to see is if David Ross is going to be able to bring in his own coaching staff and what type of managerial approach he will take to running the Cubs - a historic baseball franchise. As we have seen over the past few years, there is a risk involved by bringing in someone who doesn't have managerial experience, but Ross might be a special exception to that rule. After all, he's already been around the team enough, as previously mentioned, and he is a former catcher which often plays into someone's favor when they move into a managerial role.

Only time will tell if the hiring was the right one, but from here it looks like a terrific one and a tremendous step forward for a franchise that needed new philosophies and ideas.



2. The Philadelphia Phillies Reportedly Hire Joe Girardi for Their Managerial Opening 

While it hasn't been made official yet, there are numerous media outlets reporting that the Philadelphia Phillies have hired former New York Yankees manager/current MLB Network and Fox Sports analyst, Joe Girardi. As is the case with aforementioned, David Ross, Girardi is reportedly going to receive a three-year deal from the Phillies that also includes a club option for the 2023 season.

After what took virtually two-and-a-half weeks of evaluation, the Phillies ended up pulling the trigger on a move to fire former skipper, Gabe Kapler, and quickly moved onto the interview process which included three well experienced skippers: Joe Girardi, Dusty Baker, and Buck Showalter. All three choices were said to be appealing to Philadelphia Phillies Principal Owner and Managing Partner, John Middleton, and Middleton was heavily involved in the entire interview process. Ever since last season, it has seemed as though there has been a disconnect between the ideas of Middleton and those of President, Andy MacPhail, and Vice President/General Manager, Matt Klentak. As a result, Middleton has reportedly said that he wants to have "greater influence" over the decisions that are made moving forward for the organization and this is one of those instances.

The best thing about the Joe Girardi hiring for the Philadelphia Phillies is the fact that Girardi is the perfect guy for the organization because of his ability to blend old school ways of thought with new school analytical ideas. Girardi already has plenty of managerial experience with the Florida Marlins and New York Yankees and is someone who seems well aware of the latest analytical trends throughout the game of baseball. As a result, what will be fascinating to watch is how much the Phillies rely on analytics and sabermetrics moving forward and if the Girardi hiring changes their way of thought regarding certain ways the team operates or the brand of baseball they play.

Heading into this offseason, the Phillies have plenty of different needs all around the diamond and in their pitching staff, but with Joe Girardi at the helm the franchise made a positive step in the right direction today and it should be a tremendous hire moving forward.


3. Jayce Tingler is Reportedly Named the San Diego Padres New Skipper 

Following the cascade of news that the Chicago Cubs had officially agreed to terms with David Ross and the Philadelphia Phillies hired the aforementioned, Joe Girardi, this morning came news that the San Diego Padres had also concluded their managerial search and offered the opening to Jayce Tingler. Tingler is a name that many baseball fans do not know, but he comes over to San Diego from the Texas Rangers where he was the Major League Player Development Field Coordinator.

Although Jayce Tingler isn't Ron Washington (yet) and doesn't have the same name recognition, this is a hiring that is fascinating for a couple of different reasons. Right now, Tingler is the skipper of a Winter League Baseball team in Escogido and has helped lead them to a 9-1 record on the season. Beyond that, Tingler is bilingual, which should help tremendously with his able to communicate and connect with many of the up-and-coming prospects through the Padres farm system, and has front office knowledge as well. At one point, Tingler was an assistant to Texas Rangers President of Baseball Operations and General Manager, Jon Daniels, for a year.

With that knowledge and experience as well as the fact that he has three years of major league coaching experience under his belt, Jayce Tingler should be primed to do just fine with the San Diego Padres as they continue to identify who they are as an organization and what they want the future to look like. Beyond those things, Tingler is likely to be someone that heavily embraces analytics and is open to plenty of new ideas about how to play the game of baseball. With the San Diego Padres, analytics have played somewhat of a role in what they've done over the past couple of years, but now they are likely to play an even bigger role which will only help the Padres towards their goal of building a championship caliber ball club.

Even though the Padres have missed the playoffs every single season since 2006, it seems like they are poised to eventually get into the October dance sooner than later, with the tremendous amount of talent they have in their farm system, and Jayce Tingler should be able to help them accomplish just that.